The Rundown – 4 Weeks Until My First Half Ironman

In four weeks I hope to cross the finish line of my first ever Half Ironman. My only goal is to finish this race because it is going to take everything I have. Oddly enough I’m most worried about the run. Why? Because it comes after a 1.2 mile swim and 54 mile bike ride with over 3,000 feet in elevation gain. My goal over the next four weeks is to go from “I think I can” to “I know I can!”

WEEK OF APRIL 30, 2018

RUNNING

Running has always been my strongest part of triathlon. I’m usually able to pass competitors, dig deep and push myself to a great finish. Of course I have never tackled anything like the half ironman and I’m holding on by a thread.

My runs have been very good and I know I have the base but, it’s one thing to tick off 7:20 spilts for a measly 20 minutes after an hour on the bike and quite another to do it after hours of racing.

I know I need to trust in my training and, I’m getting there, but these next few weeks are crucial.

CYCLING

I was able to ride the beastly course once again last week only this time my coach was with me. It was also 95 degrees with a “feel like” temperature of 1 million. I also foolishly ran two miles off the bike and I’m positive some of my skin melted right off. Please dear sweet baby Jesus don’t let it be 95 degrees on race day!

We stopped at an ice cream shop to refill our bottles with cold water and electrolytes. The women in there looked at us like we were completely insane. They were not wrong.

It’s worth noting that I had no idea it was actually 95 degrees when I started my run. Afterward I felt nauseous and dizzy and had to take two salt supplements and blast my air conditioning to feel human again. I do not recommend running in 95 degree temps after cycling 53 miles when the average temperature has been 40 degrees for six months.

Tuesday – 1 hour ride before run | 14 miles

Thursday – ride the course with coach before short run | 53 miles

Total = 70 miles

SWIMMING

I have been having actual fun in the pool! Yes, I definitely need to get an open water swim done but, until the weather cooperates a bit more, I’m doing my best in the pool. Last week was a good one!

THINGS I LOVE

Celebrating 12 years married to this guy…

It was a very romantic day of going to see Avengers: Infinity War with the boys. It was a Sunday, we don’t currently have a sitter and we’re going to celebrate by going to the Bruce Springsteen broadway show in June. In case you don’t know, I’m not a fan of the boss but my husband absolutely loves him, so I surprised him with tickets. Obviously I’m the best wife ever.

THINGS I DON’T LOVE AS MUCH

Coming home and thinking someone may be in the house!

Late last Tuesday night my husband and I were driving home in separate cars, each with one of the boys. As we pulled up our hill my son said “Mom! All the lights in our house just went out!” I thought what he saw were my high beams go off on my car but then, when I opened the garage door, the back entry door was wide open! WTH?

I promptly backed out of the driveway, had my other son hop into my car and told my husband what just happened, trying not to freak the kids out too badly. We both pulled our cars onto the street and then, as luck would have it, our state police neighbor pulled into his driveway.

We told him what just happened and he cleared the house with my husband in tow. Luckily, no sign of a break in. Since the weather had just started becoming nice, the boys have been outside so we figured they didn’t close the back door all the way and, when I opened the garage, the air blew it wide open. As for the lights? I will blame that one on my car headlights and my son’s imagination.

Not a fun night but thank God for police officer neighbors!

READING

I’m kind of still in between books at this point until we decide on a new one for book club. I’m half-assed committed to Red Sparrow still but I will probably just see the movie. Articles, on the other hand, have been off the charts lately:

As sensational as the title seems, the article is less about the dead body (that of lawyer activist David Buckel who lit himself on fire in Prospect Park) and more about other reasons we run and things we run away from. This article resonated so much with me and, of you can stomach the details of the dead body, it’s really worth what comes afterward.

Unfortunately, I agree with everything Hollie details in this post about the death of blogging. It’s so sad to me because I love this space but, I think about giving it up on a weekly basis. There’s not the interaction there used to be and I feel (as Hollie does) that Instagram is taking the space blogs used to occupy but I cannot bring myself to write mini-posts on Insta. Right now, I still really love blogging and I’m not ready to give it up but, that doesn’t mean it’s not dying. Sigh.

RANDOM QUOTE OF THE WEEK

While driving in the car one day my husband made some ridiculous statement to the kids about being able to drink out of a river or stream if they were desperate for water. Um, what? Hell no! You can’r drink out of a natural body of water unless you want to get parasites and die.

Obviously, a lively debate ensued, after which my son Miles made this declaration:

“Dad tries to teach us stuff but mom just scares the crap out of you!”

Yep, that’s my job. If you’re scared you just may stay alive to become an adult.

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28 Comments

Yes you can drink from a river. You’re best bet is if you have a water filtration bottle or tabs. Or boil it first. If done and haven’t been sick! I don’t think I’d do it in a river that’s near any cities but in the backcountry, for sure! And for your half – I have complete faith that you will surpass your expectations.

I guess I wasn’t specific enough because my husband was telling them to straight up drink from a river!!! I actually said they sell special bottle filtration systems or capsules to make natural water sources potable but he was all “just open up your mouth and drink that shit!” Whaaaattt???
And thanks for your support on the race. It’s going to be interesting, no matter what 🙂

1) You are going to ROCK the HALF! Definitely trust your training and remember to just have FUN out there
2) I ran on our random New England 95 degree day last week and I thought I was going to die. I saw your post on instagram that you were biking the course and was all… “WOW, does she know how hot it is going to be in CT”… haha
3) Your house story sounds terrifying – glad it all turned out ok
4) I am pretty sure I have drank from a river at some point… but I also just read an article about gut parasites so I probably wont do that again
5) Temps and weather look amazing this week for training! I got my first LONG ride in on Saturday and it was the BEST!

That is funny about #2 because NO I had no clue it was getting into the 90s! I thought maybe 80, which was bad enough but ugh!! At least it should make me stronger, right? And the Sat weather was perfect for your first long ride!! Very cool 🙂

You definitely CAN and will do this half iron-man…. most of the time when I check insta, I’m at a grocery line or something where I can’t read 2 paragraphs… I’m not going to scroll through and come back and read it 3 hours later…. I’ve done the mini-blog-post insta thing here and there myself, but I still think there is definite value in a blog.

That is a valid point because I mostly scroll insta as well. I’m not giving up on blogging but there’s definitely been a lull and I miss people like YOU who used to blog but have moved on for one reason or another.
THANK YOU for the vote of confidence for the race. It’s going to be interesting for sure!

Oh my word I would have shit my pants if I thought someone had been in the house!!!!! It sounds like you handled it very well! Girl you’ve got this run! You are the most badass mama I know…I’m so excited to see how awesome you do!! I unfortunately agree with Holly too. I haven’t posted in so long on my blog and decided to give it another go this week. I love having the space to let go but I agree that the interaction is not there the same.

It was crazy!! I’m so thankful for my neighbor! And thank you for the support for the race. It’s super scary but I’m pretty sure that’s why I picked it 🙂
And I’ll have to read your post! I know you only do it here and there but I usually see it and enjoy reading it but you know it’s definitely not the same in the blog-o-shpere!

I have to say I’m guilty of not interacting! But I love what you write so much, and if blogging is not what it used to be, what’s next? I find myself looking at twitter or instagram but I’m still short on time finishing articles. There is so much content out there to consume! I should know this, but have you done any podcasts? We love listening while driving especially. Is it because we all feel like we have to get more than one thing done at a time and can’t just sit and read? hmmmm….. interesting tid bit, I think you are one of the only blogs I read to the end.
Re; book club – we are reading Pachinko and everyone loves it. Also we really liked News of the World 🙂
Good luck training and staying happy and healthy during said training 🙂 PS I hope the police officer checked under the beds- yikes, I’d be hopping up onto the bed without touching the floor near the bed for weeks to come.

It’s totally fine if you don’t interact! Most people read and never comment, which I totally get and I’m just happy to know I have readers 🙂 And thank you for saying you read to the end – that means a lot. No, I have never done a podcast but I also listen to a lot of them, usually on my runs and sometimes in the car, for the same reasons.
Thanks for the book recommendations too. I’ll be sure to check them out.
And yes, I made sure every nook and cranny of the house was checked before I let my kids back in.

geez reading this makes me have to PEE!!!! firstly from excitement, then maybe from all the water, lastly from nerves reading your incident with the boogie man in your house. holy SHIT that would freak me out. i have constant fears of crap like this happening to the point where i thought i was being followed and went straight psycho on these dudes… i think they were following me but they realized i was crazier then them and sped away. yeah that’s a story for ANOTHER day.
OK you will totally kick ass at the 70.3 i know this like i know i really have to pee right now. success is inevitable. you’ve got it and you will crush it.
don’t worry about shit like water and weather. you were built for this and we can do hard things as women. you know that. i’ve done racing ( can’t even say racing! ) but triathlons all over texas and in the SUMMER so don’t worry about the heat. and i’ve consumed gasoline, shit filled water from Galveston, Lake Conroe, and The Woodlands water which is the rankest water in the world, and i didn’t die or get dysentery. you will be FINE.
the heat is fine just tell yourself it is going to be hotter than fck and move on with it. it is one day and just a few hours of discomfort, which sounds like you can handle, andthe finish will be worth EVERYTHING. and i’m saying as someone who isn’t nearly as fit or strong or capable of you but someone who knows you can do it because i’ve done it. you will crush it!!! i’m so excited for you!!! AND i can’t wait to get rid of my tri bike and a cheap ass road bike again LOL

You are RIGHT ON about having the f**k it mindset and just doing what you have to do. I’m pretty comfortable with being uncomfortable but that nausea and dizziness freaked me out. Thanks for the pep talk though, I needed it!!!

Your training is so solid! Assuming it’s not a 80-90 degree day, I think you will surprise yourself and crush it!

I’ve also considered quitting… I agree people do not have the time to read blogs, but at this point, I mostly do it for myself because I enjoy it and I’m just not worrying anymore about sticking to a particular posting ‘schedule’ or anything like that. I’m glad you’re going to continue!Laura recently posted…Recovery week + Newport 10k

Thank you Laura and yes, I know I have to trust in my training!!
And I know you understand about blogging but I love reading yours. I still write mine for the same reasons, I just miss a lot of the interaction and so many great bloggers have turned off the lights…:-(

Happy anniversary! Your training is so strong and I bet you that 95 degree workout will make you feel so strong on race day, not matter what weather happens. I also know that you are stronger than any weather that could happen!
We’ve drunk from alpine streams and lakes, but we always filter it first with some weird gravity hydration system. There are some rivers like the muddy Mississippi of my childhood that I wouldn’t drink out of even if I filtered it, boiled it, and sprinkled it with holy water. But honestly, filtered fresh mountain water tastes good!
I do feel like blogging is dying, but I love it still. Blog posts are so much more personable than mini posts on Instagram and capture the highs and lows of running more fully. I have heard some predictions that blogging will be big again soon as people become annoyed with the algorithms and sponsored nature of Instagram. I definitely don’t blog as much as I did in the past, but I enjoy it and love reading other people’s blogs, especially yours!Laura @ This Runner’s Recipes recently posted…Mile Markers: A Half Marathon PR

“Sprinkled it with holy water” < - - LOL!! I have swallowed my fair share of disgusting water during triathlon swims but my husband was telling them to straight up drink from a river with zero filtration. It's hard raising three boys 🙂
Thanks so much for the support Laura!! I seriously hope I'm as strong as you were when you crushed that half marathon this past weekend!!!
And I totally agree with the points you made about blogging and Instagram or any other social media platform for that matter. I hope that rumor is true because I still truly love to blog 🙂

I know!! We actually have several in our neighborhood so there’s usually someone with a badge and gun nearby 🙂
I agree about the blog and letting go of any stress. I know I definitely won’t be in this space as much in the summer… and I love reading yours, as you know. I would be lost without your book recommendations!

I was actually JUST writing that for my mother’s day rundown – so true!!
And I also use my blog for ME and have for a long time. I know a lot of my family read it for updates on the kids and family life (not to be confused with Suzy Life 🙂 on the regular.

I put your blog in a whole different category! I think what Hollie meant is blogs like ours that are really just shared inside our community, etc. but YES your blog game is on point and I would LOVE to write another post on RTTF so thank you!! Changes are coming to this site soon so when it’s redesigned I will reach out! Thanks again Amanda.

It’s funny because I’ve seen that blogging is dying article floating around and I don’t quite agree. I think it’s dying for certain people for sure but on the flip side others are steadily growing. I think the passion is mainly dying in some bloggers, a lot of them are closing down which is making more room for others to shine. I use my blog as an outlet so I don’t ever see myself ending it…..and I am so excited for your ironman!! It’s gonna be so amazing!Nellie recently posted…How Not To Run A Half Marathon Pregnant (AKA My NYC Half Recap)